Kingsland's new municipal building a step back in time

Gordon Jackson

Sunday

Jul 26, 2009 at 12:01 AM

KINGSLAND - When Kingsland's North Center Complex opens in the coming weeks, visitors may think they have stepped 40 years into the past.

The interior of the main building at the complex on U.S. 17 about a half-mile north of City Hall is designed as a street lined with old-style utility poles and street lanterns. The walk through the middle corridor is like a stroll down the middle of the old business district that thrived before large retailers drew away customers.

"Pretty much everything in the downtown area, he tried to incorporate in this facility," Smith said. "I think he did an excellent job recreating the history."

The $2.3 million project was funded through a 1-cent local option sales tax.

For Smith, the new complex brings back vivid memories - not all pleasant - of when it was the site of O.F. Edwards Elementary School, the predominantly black school he attended as a child. The school remained open until the district was integrated in the early 1970s.

Since integration, Smith said the school board used the three buildings at the site as administration offices, and later as a depot to park and repair buses.

The buildings were unoccupied for about a decade before school board officials offered to trade the site for city-owned property near the school board's main office in Kingsland.

Smith said there was little debate about the offer, which he said was mutually beneficial for the city and school board.

Renovations included a roof between the original school and a smaller building that served as a kitchen. The 58-year-old structures also required asbestos removal and some structural improvements to bring them into compliance with all codes.

The building that once housed the bus garage was razed and a new city courthouse was built at the site.

The city courthouse is already open, creating much more space in the municipal building near City Hall, where many city offices are located.

"We're really happy here," said Kathi Greene, clerk of the court. "Our offices are now all in the same building."

Greene said delays were common when court was held because records were kept in a different building. As many as 400 people appear for arraignment and the city judge hears up to 30 cases on trial dates, she said.

"We're able to move them quicker here," she said of the case load. "Parking is more available because we can move people in and out quicker."

Once final touches are completed, the city's archives, city engineer and several police officers will occupy some of the offices, Smith said.

City manager Gwen Mungin said she and other staff members are in the process of determining which employees will be relocated to relieve overcrowding. No one from City Hall will be relocated to the new building, she said.

Smith said another consideration was to design a building complex that could potentially lure new businesses to the underdeveloped, north end of the city.

Mungin said she hopes the building design inspires other businesses to re-create some of the city's history.

"It's a concept we're hoping catches on," she said. "Our only regret is we didn't have the space to re-create all the businesses that played an important role in our city's history."

gordon.jackson@jacksonville.com, (912) 729-3672

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